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Place dossier plate
SheetNY-VALLEY-FALLS-NY · Valley Falls, NY 430 pop · income 68th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Valley Falls
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Valley Falls on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Otwell · lowest
47,422
Otwell · lowest
47,422 median HH income
19.0% of the leader · rank #1
Valley Falls · this city
86,250
Valley Falls · this city
86,250 median HH income
34.5% of the leader · rank #2
Anderson · near
86,250
Anderson · near
86,250 median HH income
34.5% of the leader · rank #3
Galena · near
86,250
Galena · near
86,250 median HH income
34.5% of the leader · rank #4
Unalakleet · near
86,250
Unalakleet · near
86,250 median HH income
34.5% of the leader · rank #5
Burdette · near
86,250
Burdette · near
86,250 median HH income
34.5% of the leader · rank #6
Indian Field · highest
250,001
Indian Field · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Valley Falls on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 430.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Valley Falls places in the 68th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
68th
percentile, household income
39th
percentile, home value
78th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Valley Falls, NY
430 people live in Valley Falls, New York - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $86,250 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 1.9%. Typical homes in Valley Falls are valued around $188,500, and the median resident age is 46.5 years. 38.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 69.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 0 residential units authorized here in 2024 (No Permits).
New York carries a cost-of-living premium: the state registers 107.9 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Above Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,579 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts New York's average monthly utility costs around $285 (state average). On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 69.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Valley Falls's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to work and mobility to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Valley Falls, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Valley Falls growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -9 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the journey to work look like in Valley Falls?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Valley Falls?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.2 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.9%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Which cities make useful reference points for Valley Falls?
Within New York, the closest population matches are Depauville (430 residents, $60,250 income); Bliss (429 residents, $48,542 income); Perrysburg (428 residents, $56,522 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Tolani Lake, AZ (430 residents); Portland, AR (430 residents); Edison, CA (430 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A
1.9%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B
38.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B-
$86,250
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
107.9 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Valley Falls profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 86/100 (A) · 1.9%
Bachelor's+ share: 72/100 (B) · 38.1%
Household income: 66/100 (B-) · $86,250
Cost of living: 12/100 (F) · 107.9 index
How does Valley Falls compare to other US cities?
Valley Falls measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income68% higher than other cities
Home value39% pricier than other cities
Median rent78% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Valley Falls against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New York only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New York-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Valley Falls near the bottom of New York's cities
Among the 1,256 New York cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Valley Falls ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Valley Falls only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#546 of 1,205
55th percentile in New York
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,256
0th percentile in New York
Median Home Value
#709 of 1,202
41st percentile in New York
Poverty Rate
#895 of 1,246
27th percentile in New York
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#524 of 1,254
58th percentile in New York
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New York only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
68th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Valley Falls's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$188,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 61% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Valley Falls's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.2×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#2,392 of 15,516
More affordable than 85% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,250 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.2×, Valley Falls sits in the affordable band:
national rank #2,392 of 15,516 and #2,250 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$86,250Valley Falls, NY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Valley Falls, NY median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Valley Falls, NY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)38.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.9%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)69.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
430
Median Income
$86,250
Median Home Value
$188,500
Median Age
46.5
Poverty Rate
1.9%
Labor force participation
69.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
38.1%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Valley Falls's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
458 residents
2021
457 residents
2022
452 residents
2023
452 residents
2024
449 residents
2025
449 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.0%
Carpool
6.7%
Public Transit
0.4%
Walk
2.1%
Work from Home
10.4%
Based on 240 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New York statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $285
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New York at $285 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $65 ).
These are New York statewide averages, not a meter reading for Valley Falls. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New York's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.9 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Valley Falls is $1,579/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New York statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 69.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New York statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Valley Falls sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Valley Falls compares to similar-size New York cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.